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South Asia summit nearing failure as India, Pakistan bicker

NEW DELHI — South Asian leaders overseeing a quarter of the world’s people were struggling to agree on how to ease trade barriers in the region as India and Pakistan continued a decades-long fight over a disputed border.

NEW DELHI — South Asian leaders overseeing a quarter of the world’s people were struggling to agree on how to ease trade barriers in the region as India and Pakistan continued a decades-long fight over a disputed border.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to meet every regional leader except Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for a one-on-one meeting during a gathering in Nepal that started yesterday. Leaders of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, or SAARC, last held a summit in 2011.

Failure to agree on cross-border travel and electricity supply would risk derailing Mr Modi’s plan to turn the bloc into a regional force that can counter China’s growing influence. Beijing’s leaders have promised to invest part of a US$40 billion (S$52 billion) Silk Road fund on infrastructure in South Asia.

“As of now, despite us trying very hard and several other countries keen to have concrete agreements on connectivity and electricity, there is no conclusive decision,” India’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin told reporters in Kathmandu. “One state has indicated they are yet to complete their internal processes.”

Mr Akbaruddin reiterated that Mr Modi was not scheduled to meet Mr Sharif on the trip, reflecting a deterioration in ties since the Pakistani leader travelled to New Delhi in May to attend his inauguration. India in August scrapped talks with Pakistan after its diplomats held meetings with Kashmir separatist leaders. That was followed by the worst border firing between the countries in a decade.

“We have been shouting from the top of the roof that we are ready for meaningful dialogue,” Mr Akbaruddin said. “But emphasis is on meaningful and in Pakistan, they know very clearly what we mean.”

Mr Sharif said he had a vision for a dispute-free South Asia in an address to SAARC leaders. He is open to resuming talks if India makes a request, Mr Musadaq Malik, a spokesman, told reporters in Islamabad.

The agreements under discussion would allow free movement of vehicles among SAARC nations and make it easier for goods and people to cross borders. They would also allow for seamless railway services between countries and enable surplus electricity producers to supply nations that are in deficit.

India sought to fend off efforts among some SAARC countries to have observers, including China, play a greater role in the organisation.

Other observers are Australia, the European Union, Iran, Japan, South Korea, Mauritius, Myanmar and the United States.

“We need to first deepen cooperation among SAARC before we try to move it horizontally,” Mr Akbaruddin said. “Once we are through with that, we will address other issues of observers because, after all, observers are always peripheral to members.”

Poor connectivity, cross-border conflicts and security concerns have contributed to South Asia being one the least integrated regions in the world, said the World Bank.

Besides the India-Pakistan conflict, Sri Lanka suffered a 26-year civil war that ended in 2009, Nepal was disrupted by a Maoist uprising that lasted for a decade until 2006 and Afghanistan continues to suffer from Taliban attacks.

Commerce among SAARC nations accounts for only 5 per cent of total trade, compared with 25 per cent in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, said the World Bank. India and Pakistan, which have fought three wars since partition after British rule ended in 1947, account for about 85 per cent of South Asia’s population and 88 per cent of the regional economy. BLOOMBERG

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